The adventures of two little dragons (Maisie and James) who keep defying the odds and changing the world, one day at a time. James suffered pProm at 12 weeks; the twins were micro-preemies born at 27 weeks weighing 1lb 11oz.

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Sunday, December 1, 2013

17 months old and other shenanigans

This post could have various titles. Our life has been so busy and is pretty darn hilarious at times... But I guess we'll settle for the traditional and do a summary of the past week or so.

1. The Fight of the O's

How I wish they made surgical cones or something of the sort to prevent toddlers from pulling off their oxygen. Tender grips no longer work. Bandages and tape don't work. Creative swaddling, coercion, and begging don't work. Scare tactics and bribes don't work. Apparently Maisie is smarter than everyone else and she has decided that she does not need oxygen. Luckily we will get a pulse ox test this week to prove it.

The first and only night she wore her oxygen.

2. Addicted to Pudding!

James has a problem. He is super addicted to pudding. We hope he will continue to gain some weight. We blame my mom but at the end of the day, we'll do anything to boost this little dragon's caloric intake.

3. Words that rhyme with "Yuck"

The little dragons have so many words that they are coming up with. Interesting things come out of these little mouths - but we'll keep it PG. Words they know: mama/mommy, dada/daddy, papa, baba, night night, Mayme, ball, up, down, no, uh-oh, done, bear, book, baby, guck, go, bye bye, bum, bump, etc. They also communicate in their own language which sounds something like "ya-ba-da-ba" and "do-be-do-do-ba".

4. So yeah, I feed myself.

James has been feeding himself pretty much everything. Veggie straws, chex, puffs, cheese, meat, and other finger foods. He definitely does things on his own pace, but he doesn't skip a beat. I am pretty happy that we developed an Early Intervention IFSP that we conquered before our sessions even began.

5. Toys? What toys?

The little dragons currently are on a strike from toys. They will play with anything but their toys. Perhaps they just find real life more interesting - but they love getting into trouble and exploring. Today they spent a good hour playing with a box and a half an hour playing with a lid to a jar. They fought over the shopping cart and a few balls, and otherwise were entertained trying to climb the stairs and get in trouble. They do like to go to "Toy Island", but it's short lived.

6. Planking.

James's new thing is planking. He likes to climb on top of things and stay stiff as a board, and then escape to the other side. I am so proud of how far he's come and how physically strong he is (he can climb up the stairs nearly on his own now, and with help he could do it with just his upper body. He is THAT strong). For a kid who was Saran-wrapped for 15 weeks in the womb, swaddled for the next 4.5 months in the NICU, and who had so many things going against him he is making great progress physically. While he is behind Maisie from a motor skills perspective, he just does things on his own time. And when things happen they are pretty darn amazing.